Osterman Research: Improving Performance And Driving Down The Cost Of Microsoft 365

Microsoft offers a set of default security capabilities in Microsoft 365, as well as making available more advanced protections in its higher priced Microsoft 365 licensing packages. These security capabilities provide a baseline of protection for Microsoft 365-centric apps and content, but threats continue to evade Microsoft's protections and many organizations also have apps and systems that are not provided as part of Microsoft's offering. Third-party security solutions can deliver higher catch rates for spam, phishing, and malware, and can also strengthen defenses against more sophisticated threats, including business email compromise (BEC) and account takeover attempts. Afterall, using Microsoft exclusively to protect Microsoft has historically not been a winning strategy.

This paper provides a detailed gap analysis of Microsoft 365 from a security and archiving point of view as well as detailed cost comparison of using Microsoft 365 with and without Mimecast.

"Decision makers should understand the limitations in Microsoft 365 before deployment, rather than being surprised after the fact."